muted celebration?

Posted on July 4, 2023 by SUMPTER

bucking bronco

Recently National Review compared and contrasted The United States and Britain: “Every nation needs a mythic anchor. Ours is our revolutionary self-founding. Britain is its longer, slower maturation.”

Eight years after the Civil War ended a Southern newspaper didn’t feel much like celebrating the American founding. From the July 4, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix:

COLUMBIA, S. C.
Friday Morning, July 4, 1873.

Fourth of July.
The recurrence of this anniversary once gladdened the hearts of men and boys throughout all this vast country. The celebration is now largely discontinued, and where it does take place at all, it is generally a tame or hypocritical affair. There is an irrepressible feeling that the significance of the day has been lost; that it is, in fact, no longer independence day. The glories of Banker Hill, of Eutaw, the Cowpens, Yorktown and all the other celebrated battle-fields of the revolution, are, nevertheless, cherished in the hearts of the people. But they will not make a mockery of celebrating them in the circumstances in which they now are. The heel of the oppressor must be lifted from their necks, before they can again take part in a day which they once delighted to honor. They leave it to those with whom profession is as good as practice, and who find political and personal advantage in keeping up the hollow ceremonial.

On the other hand, some Northerners were reportedly very excited about celebrating Independence Day. They started weeks ahead of time. From the July 12, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

HOME AND FOREIGN GOSSIP.
It is coming, rapidly coming nearer. We perceive it in the very air; the topic is on every tongue; the sound of its approach vibrates on the ear. Newspapers need not announce its dangerous propinquity; there is no occasion to herald its arrival from the house-tops. Weeks ago the very boys in the street whispered of its fast-coming footsteps, and now they noisily shout its name on willing and unwilling ears. Do not be alarmed, reader; it is not the cholera of which we speak—it is only the “Glorious Fourth!” About four weeks ago a sudden explosion at our feet announced that the lengthened Fourth of July had fairly commenced. Since that time, at early dawn, at noonday, and at night, we have been incessantly warned of that anniversary whose culmination is so near. The squibs and crackers and torpedoes, which have snapped and fizzed in our ears these past weeks, would have extinguished patriotism in any but an American heart. But every true-born son — and daughter, in these days of “equal rights” — of America is expected to open not only patient but delighted ears to the ceaseless noise and clatter with which we celebrate our nation’s Independence-day. Well, the sick and nervous and quiet-minded must endure. To them it seems strange that there is such delight in noise. But so it is. Boys are the same the world around, and by them no day is hailed with keener pleasure than is the Fourth of July. It matters not to them that it brings din and dust, smoke and rubbish, and they enjoy it to the uttermost in spite of burned fingers and scorched trowsers.

  ___________

The American Public Health Association assures us that thorough cleanliness, an abundant supply of pure water, skillful disinfection, temperate habits, wholesome diet, and pure air are the trusted means of health and security in all places,and for all classes of people, when exposed to the infection of cholera. This so much dreaded disease is now pretty thoroughly understood, and by timely and intelligent means may be prevented, or controlled and extinguished.

______________________ …

It seems that the Fourth of July was still a noisy and possibly dangerous celebration five years later – at least in some places.

Harper’s Weekly July 13, 1878 page 548

still not the cholera

To get back to Columbia’s Daily Phoenix, the editors might not have celebrated Independence Day but they did observe it. A notice on the same page as the editorial explained there wouldn’t be a July 5th issue because the paper was taking the Fourth off. Also on the same page was a long correspondence from someone who had the chance to view the original Declaration of Independence:
THE FOURTH OF JULY.- A correspondent furnishes the following interesting account of the inception of the Declaration of Independence. It was written shortly after inspecting the original, in the Patent Office in Washington. We make free extracts, as appropriate to the “Day we Celebrate:”
I wandered round the edifice, when, in not a very conspicuous place, I stumbled upon the original Declaration of Independence. I could hardly believe my own eyes. It was very much faded, but I read and re-read it, and I traced every name. It is the most important document connected with the history of our country, and the history of the world. In reading the glorious document, I was immediately transported to Independence Hall, Philadelphia, and back to July 4, 1776, and to the men who signed it. I listened to the discussions that preceded it, and then I witnessed their fixing their names to that immortal paper. There were the representatives of thirteen colonies struggling for freedom.
The declaration was not a hasty production, but prepared with great care, and adopted after mature consideration, weighing every sentence, every word, and every sentiment. On the 11th of June, a committee, consisting of five, viz: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to prepare the declaration. In this committee, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York were represented. Jefferson, though one of the youngest of the committee, and one of the youngest members of the House, was chairman. What confidence they reposed in him, when we consider his age, and the splendid men who were on the committee with him. …
The document itself is a sublime wonder. It is not a class of “glittering genealogies,” but contains great and eternal principles, drawn from the gospel of freedom. The Bible is a declaration of independence; it is a divine declaration of independence; it is a divine declaration of human independence. Our fathers said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All this is found in Paul’s memorable sermon on Mars Hill, where he declared that “God had made of one blood firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. “Every man who signed it counted the cost and weighed the issues. Each knew that if they failed of securing their independence, they would be executed for high treason. Was there ever such a pledge – first, their lives; second, their fortunes; third, their sacred honor? Not common honor, not ordinary honor, but the most exalted, the purest honor. This was the crowning pledge – as if it were far in advance of either “life” or “fortune.” This is the grand, sublime climax. It was indeed the world’s wonder and the world’s model. There were fifty-six signers.
The first-that we are introduced to is John Hancock, the President of the Congress, the merchant prince of Boston – as pure a patriot as ever lived; one who said, “Burn Boston, and make John Hancock a beggar, if it is necessary to save the nation.” He did not write his name in a fine, lady’s hand, but in full, round, bold letters, and throwing down his pen, he said, “I think King George can read that without his spectacles.” …

large signature

The Declaration of Independence has been through a lot in two hundred and forty-seven years. According to the National Archives, much of the fading the correspondent noticed was due to its exhibition at the Patent Office: “While the Declaration hung on a wall with some shade from the south, the cumulative exposure to light in the space—especially for the 35 years of exhibition—was extreme.” During the 19th century the document was on display for over fifty years uncontrolled conditions. More damage occurred in the early 20th century, including a mysterious handprint in the lower left-hand corner. Nowadays the Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are all on display at the National Archives’ Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.

Patent Office, c1846

The Detroit Times July 5, 1909

ready to celebrate

“equal rights” c1906

The quote from National review was on page 12 of its May 29, 2023 issue. The context was the coronation of Charles III. He’s considered the 62th English and/or British monarch going all the way back to the early 9th century – Ecgberht, King of Wessex.
[July 7, 2023] I should have mentioned that John Hancock’s statement about King George’s spectacles is now considered apocryphal – see Wikipedia.
From the Library of Congress: the 1779 cartoon showing America throwing King George III – but Lord North, the British prime minister from 1770-1782 written on the image – this is a British cartoon; the July 4, 1873 issue of Columbia, South Carolina’s The Daily Phoenix (page 2); F Street facade of the Patent Office; happy boy, c1901; well-armed girl; the images from the editorial page (image 8) of the July 9, 1909 edition of The Detroit Times – an editorial pointed out that child labor in factories could be at least as dangerous for boys and girls as Fourth of July firecrackers, page 1 reported 19 killed and 427 hurt in Fourth of July celebrations across the country, 10 were killed by toy pistols (that’s what it says), a Library of Congress blog provided documentation that showed the 1909 total number of killed and wounded to be much higher; Carol M. Highsmith’s 2010 photo of the fireworks store near Decatur, Alabama.
The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust; the section reproduced above is on page 599. I found the images from the July 13, 1878 issue of Harper’s Weekly at the Internet Archive

The Detroit Times July 5, 1909

spirited ’76 (Detroit Times 7-5-1909)

near near Decatur, Alabama 2010

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, American Culture, American History, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

spreading the news

Posted on June 19, 2023 by SUMPTER

Gordon Granger

As the American Civil War ended, federal troops took control of Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1865 General Gordon Granger used a military order to announce that more than two years earlier President Abraham freed the slaves in Texas and other rebel states. The Boston Daily Journal reported this in its July 7, 1865 evening edition:

FROM TEXAS: Gen. Granger issued an order at Galveston on the 19th ult. informing the people of Texas that by virtue of the emancipation proclamation all slaves are free, which involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

June 19th orders

The General has also issued an order declaring all acts of the Governor and Legislature, since the ordinance of secession, illegitimate. All civil and military officers and agents of the so-called Confederate States government, or of the State of Texas, and all persons formerly connected with the Confederate States army, in Texas, are ordered to report at once for parole. Public property must be delivered to the officers of the United States. Guerillas, jayhawkers, horse thieves, etc., etc., are declared outlaws and enemies of the human race, and will be dealt with accordingly.

The telegraph lines of Texas are to be worked by the companies, subject to the supervision of Mr. L.B. Spellman, of the United States Military Telegraph.

Senator Johnson of Arkansas had surrendered to General Granger, and having been paroled by the latter, had returned to Marlin, where his family was residing. Mr. Johnson was one of the leading politicians of his State.

who knew?

A letter from Houston to the New Orleans Picayune says:

“A general sacking of government stores and division of the plunder occurred in all the towns along the homeward line of march of the disbanded rebel troops. In a few instances even private property was not respected, and occasional encounters between soldiers and civilians, together with accidents, resulting in loss of life, have been the consequence. Among the latter the most serious was the loss of fifteen lives and the destruction of nearly half of the town of Navasota by the explosion of a magazine, which they had entered for the purpose of getting powder. The cause of the calamity is variously ascribed to accident and design.”

Business is reviving in Galveston. Three steamers were running between Galveston and Houston, bringing down cotton. Mechanics, and particularly carpenters, were in demand. The Galveston Bulletin remarks:

“Hundreds of houses and squares of fence have disappeared since the war commenced, and hundreds have been reduced by the soldiery to a condition worse than horse stables, for all of which we are indebted ex-Gov. Lubbock, some infatuated Galvestonians and Gens. Hebert and Magruder – the former of which desiring to burn the town in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the Yankees, and the latter declaring that having conquered the place, he clrimed[sic] the privilege of doing with Galveston what he pleased.”

in the know

From the Library of Congress: the July 7, 1865 issue of the Boston Daily Journal (image 2) – the same page reports the ceremonies involved with laying the cornerstone of a national monument in Gettysburg, President Johnson sent a letter saying the Civil War also freed the poor whites in the South; Gordon Granger; Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – it seems that General Granger’s order gave more detail to President Lincoln’s war measure by explaining that freedom included equal rights and equal property rights; a watch meeting on December 31, 1862; the Union Department of the Gulf’s map showing the rebel fortifications at Galveston.
From Wikimedia: the image of the June 19th orders and a couple other orders.

war then peace

Posted in Aftermath, American Culture, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Slavery, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

buried?

Posted on May 30, 2023 by SUMPTER

Cincinnati, O.

150 years ago a Southern newspaper found something to like in a Northern observance of Decoration Day.

From The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina) June 12, 1873:

KIND WORDS FOR OUR SOUTHERN DEAD.

Christian message?

Dr. Lillienthal, the well known Jewish pastor of Cincinnati, on decoration day, was called on to deliver the oration of the occasion in view of the Federal dead. While thoroughly Union, the address is leavened by a truly kindly, and, as some would say, “Christian” feeling for our “dead Confederates,” and for the people of the South. Among other good things the doctor said:

“Not one of us all entertains the least intention of humiliating our Southern brethren. We love them, and have loved them even during tho bloody fratricidal war. We honor their chivalrous spirit, their indomitable courage. We admire the names of Lee, Stuart, Jackson, Johnston and others. Are they not flesh from our flesh, bone from our bone? We pity their widows and orphans, too, for they are our brethren, our American brethren. We do not wish to humble them. We say to them, with our Longfellow: ‘Let the dead past bury its dead.’ We say, with our good and wise Lincoln: ‘With malice to none, with charity for all,’ let us do right, as God understands it; and over the graves of our fallen brethren let us renew our filial allegiance to our common flag and our common country. We in the North wish to bury in eternal oblivion the past hatred, the past feud. Let those down in the South follow our example.”

Max Lilienthal alluded to this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

A PSALM OF LIFE.

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;—

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

According to Willard W. Glazier’s 1886 Peculiarities of American Cities (at Project Gutenberg), Jews and Christians got along surprisingly well in Cincinnati:
The Jews also constitute a proportion of the inhabitants, respectable both as to numbers and character; and, what is worthy of remark, there is an unwonted harmony between Christians and Hebrews, so that an exchange of pulpits between them has been among the actual facts of the past. Dr. Max Lilienthal, one of the most eloquent and learned rabbis of the country, presides over one of the Jewish congregations, and has preached to Christian audiences; and Mr. Mayo, the Unitarian clergyman, has spoken by invitation in the synagogues. The Jews of the city are noted for their intelligence, public spirit and liberality, and are represented in the municipal government, and on the boards of public and charitable institutions. Quite as worthy of note is the fact that the Young Men’s Christian Association of Cincinnati is not influenced by that spirit of narrow bigotry which in certain other cities of the Union excludes Unitarians from fellowship.
Cincinnati is right across the Ohio River from Covington, Kentucky. During the Civil War Kentucky was a border state. In early September 1862 a Confederate army moved north from Lexington to threaten Cincinnati. The army never crossed the river. Cincinnati was successfully defended. You can read more about it in the September 20 and 27, 1862 issues of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South

admirable names

Harper’s Weekly September 20, 1862

Queen City welcomes GAR (1898)

There were reports of another major fire in Boston on Decoration Day – May 30, 1873
The picture of Max Lilienthal is from Project Gutenberg in The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin. According to Wikipedia, Mr. Lilienthal was born in Germany. In 1845 he arrived in New York City. “In 1855, he moved to Cincinnati to become an editor of The American Israelite and serve as rabbi of Congregation Bene Israel.” “Lilienthal was later an active supporter of the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, though a minority of American Jews, primarily those in the South, were themselves slaveholders and disagreed strongly with his position.”
Also from Project Gutenberg – The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The image of the defense of Cincinnati was published in the September 20, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly and is at Son of the South
From the Library of Congress: the c1866 photograph; the June 12, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix; rebel montage; 1898 souvenir from 32nd Grand Army of the Republic encampment (image 9); Carol M. Highsmith’s photograph of graves at Arlington National Cemetery.Neither of the war heroes I knew while growing up are buried at Arlington.
This past Sunday I was thinking about Memorial Day and found a good deal of information on the internet about two war heroes I knew while I was growing up. I knew one man after he served in World War II; the other man I knew before he went to Vietnam. Although both are dead now, they set a good example for me. They are remembered for their heroism, for the courage that puts others’ welfare ahead of their own earthly self-interest. I think they truly left “Footprints on the sands of time”. I’m grateful.

“our common flag” at Arlington National Cemetery

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murder at the peace conference

Posted on May 8, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the April 26, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

” entire self-abnegation”

The treacherous murder of General CANBY and the Rev. Dr. THOMAS by the Modoc Indians during a conference to which the general and the Peace Commissioners had been invited by “Captain JACK” is one of the most tragical events in the history of Indian wars. Captain JACK, secure in the natural fastness of the lava beds, had persistently rejected all peaceful overtures, and the Commissioners had come to the conclusion that the negotiations were a failure. On the 10th of April several Indians strolled into General CANBY’s camp, and were generously treated, receiving presents of clothing and provisions, When they left the Commissioners sent a message to Captain JACK, asking for a talk the next morning at a point about half a mile outside the picket line.

The next morning an Indian named “BOSTON CHARLEY” came into the camp, and told the Commission that Captain JACK and five other Indians would meet the Commission outside the lines. BOSTON CHARLEY and BOGUS CHARLEY, who had been in the camp all night, then mounted a horse and started for the lava bed. About an hour after their departure General CANBY, Mr. DYER, Dr. THOMAS, and Mr. A.B. MEACHAM, with FRANK RIDDLE and his squaw for interpreters, started for the place appointed. The party arrived at the appointed place, and were closely watched by the signal officer, Lieutenant ADAMS, from the signal-station on a hill overlooking the camp. About half an hour after the party had arrived a cry from the signal-station was heard, saying that the Indians had attacked the Peace Commission, and that another band of Indians had attacked Colonel MASON’s camp, on the east side of Tule Lake.

The troops immediately hastened to the scene of the conference, under command of Colonel GREEN. On the way Mr. DYER was met, who thought he was the only member of the party who had escaped; but soon afterward the interpreter RIDDLE and his squaw reached the lines. He gives the following account of the massacre:

aka Kintpuash

Mr. MEACHAM made a short speech to the Indians, followed by General CANBY, and then Dr. THOMAS. Then Captain JACK made a speech, asking for Hot Creek and Cottonwood, the places now occupied by FAIRCHILD and DORRIS, for a reservation. Mr. MEACHAM told JACK that it was not possible to give him what he asked. SCHONCHIN told Mr. MEACHAM to say no more; that he (MEACHAM) had said enough upon that subject; and while SCHONCHIN was speaking Captain JACK got up and walked behind the others, turned back, and exclaimed, “All ready.” He then drew his pistol and snapped a cap at General CANBY. He cocked his pistol again and fired. General CANBY fell dead, shot under the eye. SCHONCHIN then shot Mr. MEACHAM in the shoulder and head, but though severely wounded he was at last accounts still alive. Boston CHARLEY and another Indian shot and killed Dr. THOMAS. HOOKER JIM chased Mr. DYER for some distance, but DYER turned upon him with pistol in hand, and JIM ran.

The bodies of General CANBY and Dr. THOMAS were found nearly stripped of clothing. Pausing only an instant to cast a glance at the inanimate form of their beloved commander, the troops dashed on, and the two leading batteries were within a mile of the stronghold of the murderers when the bugle sounded a “halt.” Lieutenant EGAN and Major WRIGHT’s companies of Twelfth infantry were behind the artillery, and then came up the cavalry. General GILLEM and Colonel GREEN and staff were up with the men, but as soon as they found that the Indians had all got back to their stronghold the troops were ordered to fall back, and active operations were for the time deferred. It was supposed when the courier left the camp that an attack would be made on the Indians in the lava beds within twenty-four hours.

The attack on Colonel MASON’s camp, which fortunately failed of success, occurring at the same time of the massacre, shows the treachery of Captain Jack to have been deliberately planned. His object was doubtless to capture or kill the commanding officers of both posts as well as the Peace Commissioners.

On receiving intelligence of this terrible massacre, General SHERMAN at once gave orders by telegraph to General SCHOFIELD, commanding the Division of the Pacific, to advance all available troops against the Modoc Indians, administer the severest punishment, and take no prisoners. General SHERMAN has also issued the following order, announcing the death of General CANBY:

“HEAD-QUARTERS of the Army,
WASHINGTON, April 14,1873.
“GENERAL ORDER No. 3.-It again becomes the sad duty of the general to announce to the army the death of one of our most illustrious and most honored comrades. Brigadier-General Edward R. S. CANBY, commanding the Department of the Columbia, was on Friday last, April 11, shot dead by the chief, Jack, while he was endeavoring to mediate for the removal of the Modocs from their present rocky fastness on the northern border of California to a reservation where the tribe could be maintained and protected by the civil agents of the government.
“That such a life should have been sacrificed in such a cause will ever be a source of regret to his relations and friends. Yet the general trusts that all good soldiers will be consoled in knowing that CANBY lost his life on duty, and in the execution of his office; for he had been especially chosen and appointed for this delicate and dangerous trust by reason of his well-known patience.and forbearance, his entire self-abnegation and fidelity to the expressed wishes of his government, and his large experience in dealing with the savage Indians of America. He had already completed the necessary military preparations to enforce obedience to the conclusions of the Peace Commissioners, after which he seems to have accompanied them to a last conference with the savage chiefs, in supposed friendly council, and there met his death by treachery outside of his military lines, but within view of the signal-station. At the same time one of the Peace Commissioners, was killed outright and another mortally wound and a third escaped unhurt. Thus perished one of the kindest and best gentlemen of this or any other country, whose social equaled his military virtues. To even sketch his army history would pass the limits of a general order,and I must here suffice to state that General CANBY began his military career as a cadet at West Point in the summer of 1835, graduating in 1839, since which time he has continually served, thirty-eight years, passing through all the grades to major general of volunteers and brigadier-general of the regular army. He served his early life with marked distinction in the Florida and Mexican wars, and the outbreak of the civil war found him on duty in New Mexico, where, after the defection of his seniors, he remained in command,and defended the country successfully against a formidable inroad from the direction of Texas; afterward, transferred to the East to a more active and important sphere, he exercised various high commands, and at the close of the civil war was in chief command of the Military Division of the West Mississippi, in which he had received a painful wound, but had the honor to capture Mobile, and compel the surrender of the rebel forces of the Southwest.
“Since the close of the war he has repeatedly been chosen for special command, by reason of his superior knowledge of law and civil government, his known fidelity to the wishes of the Executive, and his chivalrous devotion to his profession, in all of which his success was perfect. When fatigued by a long and laborious career in 1869, he voluntarily consented to take command of the Department of the Columbia, where he expected to enjoy the repose he so much coveted. This Modoc difficulty arising last winter, and it being extremely desirous to end it by peaceful means, it seemed almost providential that it should have occurred within the sphere of General CANBY’s command. He responded to the call of his government with alacrity, and has labored with a patience that deserved better success: but alas! the end is different from that which he and his best friends had hoped for, and he now lies a corpse in the wild mountains of California, while the lightning flashes his requiem to the furthermost corners of the civilized world. Though dead, the record of his fame is resplendent with noble deeds well done, and no name on our army register stands fairer or higher for the personal qualities that command the universal respect, honor, affection, and love of his countrymen. General CANBY leaves to his country a heart-broken widow, but no children. Every honor consistent with law and usage shall be paid to his remains, full notice of which will be given as soon as his family can be consulted and arrangements concluded. By order of General SHERMAN.
“W.D.WHIPPLE Adjutant-General.”

he won’t shudder

General CANBY was placed in control of all negotiations with the Indians on the special request of the Secretary of the Interior. The members of the Commission were directed to report to him, and to send no dispatches or recommendations without first submitting them to him. He was also invested with authority by the Secretary of the Interior, through the General of the Army, to change the Commissioners in his discretion. He acted on this so far as to add one member to the Commission. General CANBY at once assumed control, and since the 10th of March the War Department and the military have had charge of the negotiations. The general sympathized entirely with the previous attempts to bring the Modocs under peaceable subjection by fair and honorable treatment, and it was in the effort to carry out this humane policy that he met his death. General CANBY was a Kentuckian by birth. He had nearly reached the age of fifty-four, had passed through two great wars with honor and distinction, to fall at last by the treacherous hand of a besotted Indian.

General Canby was born in Kentucky and graduated from West Point in 1839. He served in the United States Army throughout his career. After the war he commanded several military districts in the reconstructing South. In its April 16, 1873 issue The Daily Phoenix from Columbia, South Carolina quoted a couple other southern newspapers that didn’t have too much personal sorrow at General Canby’s death, considering his actions when in “dominion” over the southern states:

what was he thinking?
or
remember Osceola

vengeance on the way

bad faith

___________________________________________

In its May 17, 1873 issue, Harper’s Weekly reproduced a headline from a newspaper in Athens, Georgia:

cause not lost?

You can read more about Captain Jack at Legends of America.

The Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust pages 339 and 411.
From the Library of Congress: the image of Captain Jack from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, v. 36, no. 928 (1873 July 12), p. 277; the portrait of General William Tecumseh Shermanthe article from the April 16, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix;
Posted in 150 Years Ago | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

four more

Posted on March 27, 2023 by SUMPTER

inauguration site

President Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1873.

From the March 22, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

THE SECOND INAUGURATION.

heading to oath of office

THE second inauguration of ULYSSES S. GRANT as President of the United States was an event never to be forgotten by those who were privileged to witness the ceremony. The morning of the 4th of March opened with a cloudless sky that gave promise of a sunny day, but the wind was cold and keen, and its fitful gusts carried a chill to the hearts of those who dared to face them. The principal streets of the national capital had been carefully cleaned, and the buildings, public and private, garnished and decorated for the occasion. All of the previous day and night the inbound trains and steamers brought their countless hosts of eager ones who would see the inauguration. The hotels and boarding-houses were all full, and many were unable to procure lodgings of even the most inferior kind. These contented themselves with walking the streets until the appointed hour had come. Of militia-men there was seemingly no end to the number. Every train of cars brought a detachment of soldiers, and so great was the demand upon the roads that many were belated, and some failed to reach the city until after the ceremony was over.

oath of office

The military procession to the Capitol was the most imposing ever witnessed on such an occasion. Pennsylvania Avenue on the line of march was elaborately decorated; every building was covered with flags, and from every window floated streamers and banners. Every window and balcony was occupied, and throngs of people filled the streets. At ten o’clock precisely the troops began to move, headed by Chief Marshal General BARRY. First in order, and naturally attracting most attention, was the corps of cadets from West Point. As regiment after regiment marched past the multitude cheered them vociferously to the end. Besides the military there were a number of civic societies in the line. The firemen of the District were also out in their best dress.

Harper’s Weekly March 22, 1873

The inaugural ceremony took place on the east front of the Capitol, where a temporary platform had been erected for the purpose. The open space below, where the troops were massed in solid column, was literally packed with people, while the eastern fronts of both Senate and House wings were black with a solid mass of spectators. Even the cornice upon the roof and about the dome was filled. At length the ceremonies began with the appearance of the President, who, immediately after the organization of the new Senate, came upon the portico and advanced to the front of the platform. Here, with uncovered head, the President took the oath of office at the hands of the Chief Justice for the second term. The crowd below sent up a deafening huzza at this moment, and the howitzer battery of the Naval School at the south end of the square, and the Light Artillery at the north end, boomed out a salute of twenty-one guns. The President then, standing conspicuously in the front of the dense crowd on the platform, and despite the sweeping winds and biting atmosphere, calmly read his inaugural address. Our artist’s graphic delineation of the scene on pages 224 and 225 will enable the reader to judge of its grandeur.

The inaugural over, the troops escorted the President to the White House, where a review took place, after which the soldiers returned to their respective quarters. The scene on the return march was even grander and more impressive than on the march to the Capitol. The crowd on the Avenue was even larger, and the enthusiasm unbounded. In the evening a magnificent display of fire-works on the Capitol grounds closed the out-door exercises of the celebration.

chilly, very chilly

Of course there was a grand ball at night, and this was the most complete and elegant affair of the kind within the memory of man. The building in which the dancers danced was specially constructed for the occasion, at a cost of $60,000. It was of wood, and was 350 feet long by 150 feet wide, with a clear floor space of 300 by 100 feet. The room was gayly decorated and brilliantly lighted.

At the south end of the hall there were small arches for the entrances of the invited guests, above them shields, and above all, draperies, which, with a star in gas jets in the centre, were intended to eclipse the “Grant and Wilson and Peace” first intended to occupy the vacant space. At the opposite end was the platform for the President, invited guests, and other favored ones. The platform was thirty-five feet wide by seventy feet long, and was handsomely draped. Across the front were high candelabra, to support plants in pots in lieu of gas-lights. On the sides were draperies of white; on the trusses and between, where the draperies did not interfere with the arched entrances, were flags draped in arches, headed by the shields of the different States. The trusses were painted to represent columns in chrome-colors.

The President and cabinet arrived about half past eleven o’clock, and after a short stay in their reception-rooms the grand entrance was made in formal procession, the chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, Hon. H.R. SHEPHERD, and HALLET KILBOURN, Esq., chairman of the Ball Committee, doing the escort duty. Governor COOK entered with the President, and after the cabinet came the diplomatic corps. They moved through the centre of the room to the platform at the north end to the music of Hail to the Chief by the Naval Academy band. As many as 3000 persons engaged in the dance, most of whom were of the most distinguished families in the land. The supper was gotten up on a magnificent scale, and was said to be the most liberally provided ever furnished to the good people of Washington. An illustration of the ball-room scenes is given by our artist on page 221.

Inauguration balls have not always been honored with a specially erected building. It was not until General Taylor was inaugurated that, it having become evident there was no hall in Washington that could give satisfaction as a ball room on public occasions, a temporary building was constructed on Judiciary Square. Afterward the balls following the inaugurations of PIERCE, BUCHANAN, and LINCOLN were held in a similar building erected in the same square. At the second inauguration of LINCOLN the ball was in the “model-room” of the Patent-office. The chief feature of this ball, as now remembered, was the confusion which prevailed in the hat and cloak rooms when the ball was over, and everybody, apparently, wanted what nobody could give. The first inauguration ball of President GRANT was held in the north wing of the Treasury Building, and the accommodations there were too limited. The arrangements made for the last ball entirely prevented the inconvenience and crowding conspicuous on previous occasions.

Hail to the Chief

One of the places you can read the inaugural address is at Project Gutenberg:

ULYSSES S. GRANT, SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1873

[Transcriber’s note: Frigid temperatures caused many of the events planned for the second inauguration to be abandoned. The thermometer did not rise much above zero all day, persuading many to avoid the ceremony on the East Portico of the Capitol. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Salmon Chase. A parade and a display of fireworks were featured later that day, as well as a ball in a temporary wooden structure on Judiciary Square. The wind blew continuously through the ballroom and many of the guests at the ball never removed their coats.]

Fellow-Citizens:

The New York Herald March 5, 1873 page 10

Under Providence I have been called a second time to act as Executive over this great nation. It has been my endeavor in the past to maintain all the laws, and, so far as lay in my power, to act for the best interests of the whole people. My best efforts will be given in the same direction in the future, aided, I trust, by my four years’ experience in the office.

When my first term of the office of Chief Executive began, the country had not recovered from the effects of a great internal revolution, and three of the former States of the Union had not been restored to their Federal relations.

new Vice-President in town

It seemed to me wise that no new questions should be raised so long as that condition of affairs existed. Therefore the past four years, so far as I could control events, have been consumed in the effort to restore harmony, public credit, commerce, and all the arts of peace and progress. It is my firm conviction that the civilized world is tending toward republicanism, or government by the people through their chosen representatives, and that our own great Republic is destined to be the guiding star to all others.

Under our Republic we support an army less than that of any European power of any standing and a navy less than that of either of at least five of them. There could be no extension of territory on the continent which would call for an increase of this force, but rather might such extension enable us to diminish it.

The theory of government changes with general progress. Now that the telegraph is made available for communicating thought, together with rapid transit by steam, all parts of a continent are made contiguous for all purposes of government, and communication between the extreme limits of the country made easier than it was throughout the old thirteen States at the beginning of our national existence.

The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected. To this correction I stand committed, so far as Executive influence can avail.

civil rights for all citizens

Social equality is not a subject to be legislated upon, nor shall I ask that anything be done to advance the social status of the colored man, except to give him a fair chance to develop what there is good in him, give him access to the schools, and when he travels let him feel assured that his conduct will regulate the treatment and fare he will receive.

The States lately at war with the General Government are now happily rehabilitated, and no Executive control is exercised in any one of them that would not be exercised in any other State under like circumstances.

In the first year of the past Administration the proposition came up for the admission of Santo Domingo as a Territory of the Union. It was not a question of my seeking, but was a proposition from the people of Santo Domingo, and which I entertained. I believe now, as I did then, that it was for the best interest of this country, for the people of Santo Domingo, and all concerned that the proposition should be received favorably. It was, however, rejected constitutionally, and therefore the subject was never brought up again by me.

In future, while I hold my present office, the subject of acquisition of territory must have the support of the people before I will recommend any proposition looking to such acquisition. I say here, however, that I do not share in the apprehension held by many as to the danger of governments becoming weakened and destroyed by reason of their extension of territory. Commerce, education, and rapid transit of thought and matter by telegraph and steam have changed all this. Rather do I believe that our Great Maker is preparing the world, in His own good time, to become one nation, speaking one language, and when armies and navies will be no longer required.

“Humane Indian Policy”

My efforts in the future will be directed to the restoration of good feeling between the different sections of our common country; to the restoration of our currency to a fixed value as compared with the world’s standard of values—gold—and, if possible, to a par with it; to the construction of cheap routes of transit throughout the land, to the end that the products of all may find a market and leave a living remuneration to the producer; to the maintenance of friendly relations with all our neighbors and with distant nations; to the reestablishment of our commerce and share in the carrying trade upon the ocean; to the encouragement of such manufacturing industries as can be economically pursued in this country, to the end that the exports of home products and industries may pay for our imports—the only sure method of returning to and permanently maintaining a specie basis; to the elevation of labor; and, by a humane course, to bring the aborigines of the country under the benign influences of education and civilization. It is either this or war of extermination: Wars of extermination, engaged in by people pursuing commerce and all industrial pursuits, are expensive even against the weakest people, and are demoralizing and wicked. Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization should make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted upon him should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit. The moral view of the question should be considered and the question asked, Can not the Indian be made a useful and productive member of society by proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in good faith, we will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our own consciences for having made it.

All these things are not to be accomplished by one individual, but they will receive my support and such recommendations to Congress as will in my judgment best serve to carry them into effect. I beg your support and encouragement.

It has been, and is, my earnest desire to correct abuses that have grown up in the civil service of the country. To secure this reformation rules regulating methods of appointment and promotions were established and have been tried. My efforts for such reformation shall be continued to the best of my judgment. The spirit of the rules adopted will be maintained.

reduced, traduced

I acknowledge before this assemblage, representing, as it does, every section of our country, the obligation I am under to my countrymen for the great honor they have conferred on me by returning me to the highest office within their gift, and the further obligation resting on me to render to them the best services within my power. This I promise, looking forward with the greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be released from responsibilities that at times are almost overwhelming, and from which I have scarcely had a respite since the eventful firing upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, to the present day. My services were then tendered and accepted under the first call for troops growing out of that event.

I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to perform my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the nation. I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or command, and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or individual.

Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign, I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.

vindicated

President Grant appointed Henry D. Cooke first territorial governor of Washington D.C. His successor was the last territorial governor of the district.
The New York Herald’s take on the inauguration wasn’t as glowing as the Harper’s Weekly coverage. It’s headline called the president “uncourteous”. An English correspondent at the big event thought the crowd was smaller than a business day on Broadway. There wasn’t much cheering “to-day as the President passed by, and to what there was he never made the least response. Lord Chesterfield lays down the axiom that it is the duty of a gentleman to raise his hat in reply to a similar salutation, even though it be proffered by a beggar; but President Grant’s stovepipe might have been nailed to his head, and his face was as cheerful and expressive as the figurehead of an old frigate”.
President Grant might have been diminished in the eyes of some people because of the scandals that plagued his administration. Although the Crédit Mobilier scandal occurred before the Grant presidency, the story broke during the 1872 election campaign. In his diary entry for March 4, 1873 James Garfield mentioned he made a statement in the House regarding his role in Crédit Mobilier. Henry Wilson, Grant’s new vice-president, was also involved. Garfield’s diary confirms the cold: “About fifteen thousand people were present. Out of the bitter cold away from the crowd I reached home late in the afternoon. I retired early and slept long and hard.”

The New York Herald March 5, 1873 page 3

James Garfield was there

American Mecca

From the Library of Congress: U.S. Capitol – the explanation on the back of the stereoscope likens to Niagara Falls; the procession through the Capitol, Illus. in: Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, v. 36, 1873 March 15, p. 5; Chief Justice Chase administering the oath, Illus. in: Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, v. 36, no. 911 (1873 March 15), p. 1; Grant with 1872 Republican platform; re-election poster; the material from the March 5, 1873 issue of The New York Herald; James Garfield’s diary entry for March 4, 1873;Grant and staff on Lookout Mountain, 1863
The cartoon of Grant as giant and as pygmy is from the April 2, 1870 issue of Punchinello at Project Gutenberg. Most of the Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, except for the image of the crowd at the Capitol. You can see that at Internet Archive.

General Grant and staff on Lookout Mountain

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“guiding star”

Posted on February 22, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the March 1, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

winter wonder

WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE.

[see Illustration on First Page.]

O Noble heart! that ne’er from duty swerved,
Nor thought of self through all the weary hours!
O noble life! that did for others live,
And for our nation gave its wondrous powers!
There were dark days, when clouds the sunshine hid,
And laid upon that heart a load of care;
But yet unshaken through the storm it stood,
Nor bowed itself save for new strength—in prayer!

And there were days of toil—of weary march
Through winter’s snow and sleet, when hearts,
though sad,
Pressed on, cheered by the voice of him who led—
The noblest chief that ever soldier had!
When destitution came upon them all,
And with it murmurs of their sore distress,
Ah! then he lent his strength their own to aid,
Nor failed in aught of brother’s tenderness.

O days long past! that held his glorious life!
We hold with joy the precious legacy
Of his great name! the name of Washington!
And by each tongue that name must honored be;
And as through clouds of sorrow and dismay
Men looked to him as to their guiding star,
So we within our hearts his memory hold,
Nor with disloyal breath its brightness mar!

According to the National Park Service, the suffering at Valley Forge was not quite as bad as the myth suggests:

“The myth often obscures the actual history of the event, however. It tells us that it was the experience of tremendous suffering from cold and starvation during the encampment that forged a spirit of extraordinary patriotism among Washington’s men. Hardship did occur at Valley Forge, but it was not a time of exceptional misery in the context of the situation. The encampment experience could be characterized as “suffering as usual,” for privation was the Continental soldier’s constant companion. Likewise, patriotism did not peak during the relatively short six-month period at Valley Forge. Widespread devotion to the cause was an early war phenomenon for the most part. Steadfast patriotism found a long-term home among only a few Americans, most notably the veterans who served for the duration.”

“The Prayer at Valley Forge”

“Baron Steuben at Valley Forge, 1778”

“Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge”

___________________________________

More information from the National Park Service article:

“Through the duration the encampment, Washington inspired the soldiers through his own resilience and sense of duty. He persuaded Congress to reform the supply system and end the crippling shortages, and attracted experienced officers to the cause, including former Prussian officer Baron von Steuben, who was assigned the task of training the troops. Von Steuben taught the soldiers new military skills and to fight as a unified army. These reforms in supply systems and fighting tactics, along with reforms in military hygiene and army organization, became the foundation of the modern United States Army.” …

“George Washington”

“[D]isease was the true scourge of the camp,” especially during the warmer months of March, April, and May. …

“Because of its far-reaching consequences, the single most noteworthy achievement was the maturation of the Continental Army into a professional force under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben. Baron von Steuben assessed the army and recognized that Washington’s men needed more training and discipline. At the same time he realized that American soldiers would not submit to harsh European-style regulation.

“Von Steuben did not try to introduce the entire system of drill, evolutions, maneuvers, discipline, tactics, and Prussian formation into the American army:

I should have been pelted had I attempted it, and should inevitably have failed. The genius of this nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. You say to your soldier [in Europe], “Do this” and he doeth it; but [at Valley Forge] I am obliged to say, “This is the reason why you ought to do that,” and then he does it.
— Baron von Steuben to Baron de Gaudy, 1787-88

“Instead, von Steuben demonstrated to the men the positive results that would come from retraining. He provided hands-on lessons, and Washington’s independent-minded combat veterans were willing to learn new military skills when they saw immediate results. Von Steuben remarked on how quickly Washington’s men progressed in the retraining process, saying that it normally took two years to properly train a soldier. As spring wore on, whole brigades marched with newfound precision and crisply executed commands under the watchful eye of the baron.” …

“The symbolic importance that Americans have attached to Valley Forge since the 19th century both complicates and enriches its authentic history. The establishment of Valley Forge as a memorial provides a place where generations of Americans have had the opportunity to discover and admire the Continental Army’s sacrifices and achievements and to participate in commemoration of this history. The desire to commemorate began to shape the history of this place soon after the army marched out.”

“Washington’s headquarters at Valley Forge, Pa.” (1921)

From the Library of Congress: Washington’s prayer (c1866); Baron von Steuben (c1907); Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge (c1907); Washington as Commander in Chief; Washington’s headquarters, 1921 photo; Washington at Valley Forge by E. Percy Moran, c1911; Franklin Simmons’ “Valley Forge” from Historical and Topographical Guide to Valley Forge by William Herbert Burke (1912)- according to flickr it’s located at the Washington Memorial Chapel on private property within the National Park.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 169, 170

“Washington at Valley Forge”

“guiding star”

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love wanted

Posted on February 14, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the February 1, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

MATCH-MAKING BY ADVERTISEMENT.

THERE is a paper in England devoted to the business of match-making by advertisement. It is called the Matrimonial News. In every number the reader may review some 350 candidates for marriage, and for one shilling an advertiser may describe his or her attractions, provided that the same be done in no more than forty words. Questions of difficulty or delicacy referring to courtship are answered gratuitously in these columns, privately for twelve stamps, personally for five shillings; a fee of five shillings is also required one month after any marriage brought about by this machinery. It is said that the business is bona fide, that confidence and secrecy are strictly observed, and, if the editor is to be believed, hundreds of marriages have resulted from his labors.

The modus operandi is this. The real name, address, and photograph of each candidate are deposited with the editor, the advertisement appears, and those who like correspond in the Matrimonial News, at first by numbers, like convicts: No. 6000 replies to Nos. 6007 and 6010, avowing that the particulars suit, and that he desires an exchange of photographs. This is done through the editor, who then, if both parties wish it, places them in direct private correspondence with each other, on condition of receiving a fee (amount not stated). Assuming that all this has occurred, it is probable that the first step taken is to ascertain that the personal appearance is equal to the photograph, and the second to cause their respective lawyers to inquire as to the fortune of the lady and the “ample private means” of the gentleman. For it is a most noteworthy fact, and one which extorts our admiration, that not only is fortune-hunting in these advertisements conspicuous by its absence, but that instances of extreme disinterestedness abound, so that men of “private fortune” or “ample means” expressly state that “money on the lady’s side is of no moment.” Out of nearly 200, not above twenty make it a necessary qualification.

forever yours?

The strangest part of the traffic presents itself the social position of the candidates. In one batch there are two noblemen, two colonels, a member of three learned societies, barristers, physicians, missionaries, squires with beautiful residences and good fortune, county magistrates, and numberless naval and military officers; a French lady of title, two English ditto, one having a jointure of £3000 per annum, two heiresses, whereof one is a ward in Chancery, entitled to large landed property on coming of age, some half a dozen of noble family or of ancient lineage; and above the rest in point of urgency is an application from a widow lady and her three daughters, all wanting husbands and having independent incomes. Surely this is, to say the least of it, very strange.

On another point a few words of warning seem needed. Certain of the candidates desire to correspond with too many of the other sex at once. Thus a bachelor, No. 6371, “desires to correspond” with no fewer than nine ladies; an Italian, No. 6421, with six; a medical man, No. 6456, with seven. The daughter of a deceased officer wishes to hear from eight gentlemen, and Emmeline, who is the offender in chief, wishes to correspond with as many as fourteen. Such a course of proceeding is hardly fair, nor is it promising of future happiness, for if the marriage accomplished proves unsatisfactory, the nucleus of regret, if not of discontent, is already formed. “If I had only taken 5423 instead of 6320,” he or she will say, “so should I have been blessed, whereas now,” etc. It is hardly to be supposed that of 350 weekly advertisers all represent impostures, and we are assured (though we remain doubtful) that detection and exposure are the results of any attempt at a hoax. If our men and women are so driven by circumstances that they can find suitable companions by no other method than this, so be it. Many there may be who marry in haste and regret at leisure; but, according to Congreve, there is a worse fate possible. In his play of The Old Bachelor are the following lines:

“Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure—
Married in haste we may repent at leisure;
Some by experience find those words misplaced—
At leisure married, they repent in haste.”

so far, so good

A book published 150 years ago might have helped the matrimonial advertisers. Webster’s Ready-Made Love Letters begins with an overview of the courtship process and wedding etiquette and then proceeds to some love letter templates. None of the templates are explicitly intended for newspaper singles ads, but the first letter might have been useful with some modifications:

LETTER I.

From a Gentleman to a Lady whom he has seen but once.

HYDE PARK, May 3, 18—

Miss:

Prompted by an impulse which I cannot control, and impelled onward by a passion which overwhelms every other consideration, I have dared to address you with the hope, faint, yet deathless, that Fortune, which sometimes seconds a desperate resolve, may thus far favor me.

I acknowledge that, previous to yesterday, my eyes had never beheld you; but no sooner did you flash across my path than I felt enchained, enraptured, and experienced an instantaneous and vivid impression to which I had hitherto been a stranger.

I could not remain easy a moment longer without ascertaining your name and address. To accomplish this, I had the boldness to follow your footsteps, and for this and subsequent acts of temerity, I seek your pardon, and implore you to overlook the offence for the sentiment which occasioned it.

That I should be charmed at first sight by so fair a presence cannot be inconsistent in itself, or a matter of surprise to you; doubtless this is not the first instance by many of your having led the senses captive on the instant. It may, however, be the first time of your having been addressed under similar circumstances; so that, while others hesitate outside the barrier, I have entered the lists, and set my lance in rest.

For this display of eagerness and impetuosity, let me ask your forgiveness, and at the same time remind you that it is not altogether incompatible with real regard, which some suppose should be of slow and gradual growth.

I venture to assert, however, that in every case where two hearts are concerned, affection has had its birth in some instantaneous impression or sudden impulse. Esteem, respect, and regard, which accompany the tender passion, follow afterwards. The heart is first impressed with a hasty sketch, and the outline is at a later date filled in.

I trust, therefore, Miss, that although this communication emanates from one to whom you are unknown you will not conceive it to be wholly undeserving of notice; but that you may be induced to hold out some hope, however slight, and to favor me with a few words of reply, from which I may extract hope to animate me, and encouragement to persevere.

I have the honor to be, Miss,
Your devoted servant,

TO Miss —

Harper’s Weekly February 15, 1873

wholesale market

According to Wikipedia, William Congreve wrote some other well-known lines, including: “Musick has charms to soothe a savage breast” and “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.”
There is information out that the Matrimonial News opened offices in a few American cities. At Newspapers.com you can read another article about the service, this time from the the November 9, 1878 issue of The Valley Falls New Era.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 102, 103, 129
From the Library of Congress: Forever yours between 1800 and 1900; Harmony before Matrimony (1805), I thought I saw a cat fight. but apparently not – “A young woman and a fashionably dressed young man singing a duet. The woman plays a harp while looking over her shoulder at the music book, “Duets de L’Amour”, which the man holds. On the table between the two is an open copy of Ovid’s “Art of Love.” Two cats play on sheets of music; two goldfish swim in a bowl; two roses grow in a vase. Other images reflect the concept of couples and love.”; Webster’s Ready-Made Love Letters; Civil War envelope

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peaceful transfer

Posted on January 1, 2023 by SUMPTER

The South had its Fire-Eaters, the North had John A. Dix. While briefly serving as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury for a time before Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration, John Dix sent a telegram to Treasury agents in New Orleans ordering them to shoot on the spot anyone who tried to pull down the United States flag. The telegram never made it to the agents, but the northern press publicized the contents, which fired up Northerners.

It was more peaceful at the state capitol in Albany nearly twelve years later when General Dix was inaugurated governor of New York.

From the January 18, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

new governor in old fighting clothes

GOVERNOR JOHN A. DIX.

GENERAL JOHN A. Dix, with whose long and eminent career in the civil and military service of the country every reader is familiar, was on the first day of the new year inaugurated as Governor of the Empire State. The ceremonies on this occasion were simple, brief, and impressive. There was very little display, and nothing in the general aspect of the capital to indicate that the Chief Magistrate of five millions of people had given place to his successor, and that a powerful political party had been supplanted by another in the control of the State government.

The retiring Governor entered the Assembly room with General Dix on his arm. The staff of each in full uniform followed, arm in arm. In this order the party walked up the middle aisle until the space in front of the clerk’s desk was reached, when they separated, General Dix going to the platform behind the clerk’s desk by the left, and Governor HOFFMAN by the right. The staff officers, twenty-eight in number, ranged themselves in a semicircle in front of the desk, and when, after a moment, the slight bustle which had attended the entrance had subsided, Governor HOFFMAN addressed General Dix in a few well-chosen words, to which the General made a brief reply, alluding only in general terms to political affairs. The oath of office was then administered, and the ceremony of installation, which had lasted scarcely twenty minutes, was concluded.

Governor Dix, of whom we give a portrait on our first page, enters upon his term of office with the full confidence of the people that he will, to the best of his ability, carry out the policy of reform so emphatically indorsed at the late election.

John A. Dix had a full and varied career, which began as a twelve year old soldier in the War of 1812. From the August 2, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South:

MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN A. DIX.
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN A. Dix, whose portrait we give on page 485, was born in Boscawen, New Hampshire, July 24, 1798. His fattier was the late Colonel Timothy Dix, whose services and death in the last war with Great Britain are matters of history.
In December, 1812, young Dix was appointed’ to a cadetship at the West Point Military Academy; but he never went as pupil to that institution. His father was then in the army, and being stationed in Baltimore, sent for his son, who joined him there, and very soon (March, 1813) received the commission of Ensign, and marched with his father’s command to Sackett’s Harbor, the youngest officer in the American army.
In June, 1813, he was appointed Acting-Adjutant of Major Timothy Upham’s independent battalion of nine companies at Sackett’s Harbor. He accompanied his father in the expedition down the St. Lawrence, and was with him when he died on board one of the transports near French Mills, in November, 1813, after the battle of Chrystler’s Fields. He was then transferred from the infantry to the artillery, and attached to the staff of Colonel Walbach. At the close of the war he remained in the army, part of the time on garrison duty at various stations, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Fort Washington and Old Point Comfort, Virginia, and six years as aid-de-camp to Major-General Brown while he was Commander-in-Chief of the army. He finally left the service in 1828.
He read law with William Wirt, then United States Attorney-General, was admitted to the New York bar in 1828, and afterward to the United States bar in Washington.
1849. He was Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, and an active member of the Committee on Military affairs. He was the author of the warehousing system as it was adopted by Congress.
In 1826 he married the adopted daughter of the Hon. John J. Morgan, of New York, by whom he has had four sons and two daughters.
From 1828 to 1831 he practiced law in Cooperstown, New York. In 1831, on being appointed Adjutant-General of the State, he removed to Albany. In 1833 he was chosen Secretary of State and Regent of the University.
In 1841 and 1812 [1842?] General Dix was a member of the New York Assembly from Albany County, and took an active and influential part in the most important legislative measures of that period—such as the liquidation of the State debt by taxation, and the establishment of single Congressional Districts.
On the election of Silas Wright as Governor of New York General Dix was chosen to complete his unexpired term of five years in the United States Senate, and took his seat in that body January 27, 1845, where he remained until March 4, 1849. He was Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, and an active member of the Committee on Military affairs. He was the author of the warehousing system as it was adopted by Congress.
General Dix acted with that portion of the New York Democracy known as “the Free-Soil Democracy” in 1848-’49, and was their candidate for Governor in 1848. But when the delegation of New York became legitimately connected with the nomination of General Pierce for the Presidency in 1852, General Dix sustained that nomination.
On the election of General Pierce to the Presidency he first selected General Dix for his Secretary of State. But, as is well known, the leaders of the Southern democracy, of the Mason and Slidell school, protested so violently against his appointment that it was never made. The same influence prevented his appointment as Minister to France, which had been offered to him as an inducement for him to accept for a while the local office of Assistant-Treasurer of the United States in the city of New York. On the appointment of Mr. John Y. Mason, of Virginia, to the French embassy Mr. Dix resigned the office of Assistant-Treasurer, and withdrew almost wholly from politics.
Early in 1859 enormous defalcations having been discovered in the New York City Post-office, and the defaulting Postmaster having absconded, President Buchanan appointed General Dix to that office, and urged its acceptance on the ground that the public interests required the appointment of some man of the highest character and reputation for integrity and administrative ability. Mr. Dix yielded to these representations, and accepted the office. In January, 1861, the treachery and dishonesty of Floyd, Cobb, & Co., of the first Buchanan Cabinet, having reached their climax, and ended in the withdrawal or flight of those traitors from Washington, and the financial embarrassments of the Government requiring the appointment of a Secretary of the Treasury in whose probity, patriotism, skill, and efficiency the whole country could and would confide, General Dix was called to that high office, and entered on its duties January 15, 1861.
Early in 1859 enormous defalcations having been discovered in the New York City Post-office, and the defaulting Postmaster having absconded, President Buchanan appointed General Dix to that office, and urged its acceptance on the ground that the public interests required the appointment of some man of the highest character and reputation for integrity and administrative ability. Mr. Dix yielded to these representations, and accepted the office. In January, 1861, the treachery and dishonesty of Floyd, Cobb, & Co., of the first Buchanan Cabinet, having reached their climax, and ended in the withdrawal or flight of those traitors from Washington, and the financial embarrassments of the Government requiring the appointment of a Secretary of the Treasury in whose probity, patriotism, skill, and efficiency the whole country could and would confide, General Dix was called to that high office, and entered on its duties January 15, 1861.
On the 18th January, 1861, three days after General Dix took charge of the Treasury Department, he sent a special agent to New Orleans and Mobile for the purpose of saving the revenue vessels at those ports from seizure by the rebels. The most valuable of these vessels, the Robert McClelland, at New Orleans, was commanded by Captain John G. Breshwood, with S. B. Caldwell as his lieutenant. Breshwood refused to obey the orders of General Dix’s agent, Mr. Jones; and on being informed of this refusal, the Secretary telegraphed as follows; “If any man pulls down the American flag, shoot him on the spot!”
This dispatch, evidently thrown off fervido animo, and with a pen too hasty to pause for blot or literal correction, was intercepted by the Governor of Alabama, and did not reach Mr. Jones until the joint villainy of Captain Breshwood and the authorities of Louisiana had been consummated by stealing the cutter. It found its way very soon into the newspapers, and it flew over the land like the Highland cross of fire, setting the hearts of the people every where ablaze.
Civil War envelope showing American flag and cannon with message "Shoot the first man that attempts to pull down the American flag" (between 1861 and 1865; LOC - LC-DIG-ppmsca-31705 )

fervent patriotism

In its January 11, 1873 issue Harper’s Weekly noted yet another job John Dix held, at least for a short time:

edited a journal

Conductor Dix

In its January 14, 1873 issue Harper’s Weekly did a historical contrast and compare with a New Year’s Day tradition:

calling tradition

Of course, a lot had changed between 1650 and 1873 for Knickerbockers. In 1664 the English took control of New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it New York. A 1660 map showed the southern tip of the island of Manhattan a few years before the English took over.

left is southerly

You can read more about the inauguration in The January 2, 1873 issue of New York Herald, page 5 at the Library of Congress. Apparently outgoing Governor John T. Hoffman was very popular with the citizens of Albany, but he was back in New York City on the evening of January 1st. According to the January 1, 1873 issue of The New York Herald, New Year’s Day was “Gotham’s Favorite Festival” and included the social calls: “The custom of making calls on this day has already been alluded to. It is a very commendable social practice and receives its fullest development in New York. The other cities of the Union copied it from us, and now the thing is observed almost everywhere throughout the country. In spite of some abuses which have arisen since it was originated, and which have prejudiced many worthy people against it, the custom is hardly ever likely to die out. It has a powerful hold on the social instincts of Americans, and will be apt to flourish for all time. They have something similar in Paris, but it is of a less muscular character than our own. …”
From the Library of Congress: Civil War envelope; Currier & Ives’ greeting c.1876; From the Internet Archive: the November 1842 issue of The Northern Light. The 1660 Castello Plan is from Wikimedia Commons. “The text at the top of the image states: “Image of the city Amsterdam in New Netherland”.
The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust
Happy new year (New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1876.; LOC: https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695831/)

hope it is a good one

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Postbellum Politics, The Election of 1872, Veterans | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

pleasant surprise

Posted on December 25, 2022 by SUMPTER

Sir Isaac Newton isn’t usually the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Christmas.

From The Daily Phoenix, Columbia, South Carolina, December 25, 1872:

merrier in London

Christmas.

The learned have long been divided in opinion as to the precise day of the nativity of the Saviour. But from the earliest ages of the church, the 25th of December has been fixed upon. Sir Isaac Newton, in his commentary on the prophecies of Daniel, accounts for the choice of this day, the winter solstice, by showing that not only the Feast of the Nativity, but others, were originally fixed at cardinal points of the year; and that the first Christian calendars having been so arranged by mathematicians, at pleasure, without any ground in tradition, the Christians afterwards adopted what they thus found in the calendars. They were content so long as a fixed time of commemoration was solemnly appointed.

lord of misrule

When the world was younger, a warmer, or at any rate, a more boisterous hospitality, marked the recurrence of the day of the Nativity, than is usual now. Most of the old customs, such as the wassail-bowl, the yule-clog and the lord of misrule, with attendant sports and frolics, are now discontinued, and almost forgotten. Those pious songs, the Christmas carols, of which, according to Bishop Taylor, the earliest was the “Gloria in Excelsis,” the hymn sung by the angels to the shepherds at our Lord’s Nativity, are now almost out of vogue. They were originally festal chansons for enlivening the merriments of the Christmas celebrity. They were considered indispensable to the escort of the soused boar’s head, which was the first dish borne up to the principal table in the great hall. After undergoing many changes, and becoming, for a time, austere, under Puritan rule and influence, we have known them in our day, principally through the entertaining stories, appropriate to Christmas times, of the late Charles Dickens.

“Serving up the Boar’s Heat at Queen’s College, Oxford, On Christmas Day.”

These old customs have passed away, but the old feeling of relaxation from care at this season survives them. Anxieties are dismissed for a time, as all feel that

“Christmas comes but once a year,
And, when it comes, it brings good cheer.”

While, then, they give way to their social feelings, and celebrate the day in becoming style, with roast turkey on their tables, and bowls of egg-nog in the hall, they should not forget the claims of those who are in less favorable circumstances, to whom Christmas is made sad by their exclusion from its festivities. Gaunt hunger is at many a threshold in our city today, and the tattered garments and open hovels of the destitute are but a poor protection against the inclement season. They need food, fuel, clothing, and other comforts, and it becomes those whose means enable them to minister to such pressing wants, not to withhold the helping hand. Whoever is happy himself should wish to make others happy. We cannot help thinking that those who mingle a judicious, hearty and unobtrusive charity with their Christmas enjoyments, will find them better sweetened and more highly flavored to their taste. In the wish that all, the poor and sad, as well as the rich and cheerful, may have unalloyed happiness in their hearts, homes and associations, we wish them a merry Christmas, and many returns of it, brightening each time with higher enjoyments, purer hopes and tenderer charities.

After a couple short articles, the Daily Phoenix next editorialized about General William T. Sherman’s testimony regarding the burning of Columbia on February 17, 1865.

Columbia burns

The Burning of Columbia.

General Sherman

Most of our city readers have not yet been able to recover from the horrors of that dreadful night when Columbia was burnt by the Federal army.They can never forget the atrocities and cruelties which accompanied the vandal act. The city was formally surrendered by the Mayor and Aldermen about 12 or 1 o’clock in the day, and taken regularly under the protection of the Federal commander. He told the mayor and friends who were with him that they need be under no apprehension, and that they and all the citizens might sleep in peace. Gen. Sherman himself, we suppose, slept soundly while the 15th Army Corps “did their work well,” as it seems he knew they would do it. Such was the indignation which this atrocious abuse of the rights of war, the betrayal of pledges, and needless, heartless cruelty caused throughout the civilized world, that it was meanly attempted, by certain writers of fiction, called historians, and by subsidized Congressmen, to saddle the crime upon Gen. Hampton. Nobody believed this but those brutal and vulgar wretches who prefer a lie to the truth always. Now, curiously enough, we have Gen. Sherman himself on the stand, giving his testimony before the American and British Claims Commission in regard to the burning of Columbia. He did not issue orders to do it. Of course not. There was a better way. He had but to let the exasperated army alone, and they would know what to do. They knew that he, too, was exasperated, and divined his feelings only too well. When Sherman was on his way to Columbia, Halleck wrote to him to destroy Charleston and sow it with salt, so that no more nullification and secession should ever grow there again. To this, Sherman, in reply, wrote that Charleston and Columbia would soon be in his hands, and Halleck would have no cause to complain of his treatment of them; that he had the Fifteenth Corps with him, and that corps did their work well; and further, that he (Sherman) would not spare the public buildings at Columbia as he had at Milledgeville. Gen. Sherman admitted, on his examination, that this correspondence was authentic. He stated that he occupied Columbia with the Fifteenth Corps. In reply to the question whether he kept the men in ranks after taking possession of the city, he said “No.”

We grieve for the sin that lies upon the souls of all the lying chroniclers, confessmen [sic, congressmen?] and newspaper writers, in connection with this much mooted affair. All the falsehoods are without avail, for here is the chief actor himself making a a [sic] clean breast of the thing. Bad enough it is to lie, but to do so for a chief who pleads guilty of the charge which they stoutly deny – this must indeed be excruciating to their feelings.

Columbia from the capitol, 1865

Apparently employees of The Daily Phoenix had a relaxing Christmas. The Library of Congress doesn’t have a copy of the paper for the 26th, presumably because no one was working on the 25th. According to the December 27th edition, the staff provided sort of a surprise party to go, but page 2 began with an article about the only vice-president of the Confederate States of America. Alexander H. Stephens gave a rather hopeful speech in Atlanta. The Phoenix thought it was easier to be hopeful in prosperous Georgia than in hellish South Carolina.

From the December 27, 1872 issue of The Daily Phoenix, Columbia, South Carolina:

Speech of Hon. Alexander H. Stephens – Hopeful Views.

Hon. A.H. Stephens, of Georgia, has long been conspicuous for his talents and eloquence, his services and patriotism. He is a great favorite in our sister State, and faithfully returns the fondness the people feel for him. These relations of confidence and regard have marked those intervals in his life when he has not filled office, as well as the periods when he has been a chosen representative of the State. The people of Georgia early discovered his merits, and confidingly bestowed upon him their highest honors. The personal esteem felt for him is even greater than the political favor which has so often been shown him. The confidence in his integrity, capacity and experience, enforced and supplemented by personal regard, extends beyond the bounds of his State, as was signally shown when he was elected Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy, although it was well known that he did not originally favor secession as a remedy. Theoretically he did not approve of that step, but once it was taken and identified with the cause of the South, his heart yearned for its success, freighted, as it was, with many precious hopes. He regarded the success of the Southern movement as the best guarantee of the liberties of the continent. In his judgment the Southern cause included and involved the maintenance of local self-government and the principles of the rights of the States, upon which the fabric of American free institutions rested.

hopeful in Atlanta

Since the close of the war, Mr. Stephens has lived in retirement, but not in inactivity. The victim of weak health and chronic disorders of body, his mind is ever active and his studies incessant. The old cause of constitutional, well regulated liberty is ever present to his thoughts, and he is a most attentive observer of passing events. He has employed his pen recently with fine effect in presenting and describing the true issues of the war, and in the preparation of valuable literary and historical works. For a year past he has been the political editor of the Atlanta Sun, and took ground in the late canvass against the support of Horace Greeley as the compromise candidate between the North and South. In this he differed from the larger portion of the people of the South and of Georgia, but it was an honest difference, and rested, on both sides, on sincere convictions. In this State, all except some of the new population and the colored people, very cordially accepted Mr. Greeley, as both honest and capable, and embodying and entertaining the true spirit of conciliation. Perhaps our condition somewhat influenced our views. We naturally crave to be delivered from the body of death to which we are tied. We catch at every straw, we strain our eyes toward every prospect of deliverance from a set of thieves who are stealing our substance, and from the load of ignorance which is fast crushing the life out of us. For his own high merits, for the good that he promised us, and which we hoped his election would bring to us and the whole country, we warmly supported Mr. Greeley’s claims to the Presidency, but Mr. Stephens thought differently and stood aloof.

Upon the invitation of his friends in Atlanta, Mr. Stephens, a few days ago, delivered a conversational address in that city, upon the issues of the day and his personal relations to them. Having elucidated these elaborately and satisfactorily, he presented some of the grounds upon which he bases his hopes for a better prospect in future. They show the buoyancy and elasticity of his nature, and perhaps the prescience of his mind. We confess that we cannot see as bright a light or as fine a prospect before the country as Mr. Stephens does; but he is in prosperous Georgia, where the people govern themselves, and we are in downtrodden South Carolina, where the public debt has been trebled in four years; where our annual current State expenses have been increased more than sevenfold; where taxes have nearly reached the point of confiscation; where the Treasury is empty; where all public institutions have gone to decay, and the high prizes of talent and public service are sold like any other commodity in market, at the highest price. Around and all along the borders of this State might be appropriately placed the inscription which Dante saw over the gate of hell:

“Per me si va nella citta dolente;
Per me si va ne l’etterno dolore;
Per me si va tra in perduta gente;
Lasciate ogni speianza, voi ch’entrate.”
[Through me is the way into the doleful city;
Through me the way into tho eternal pain;
Through me the way among the people lost;
Leave all hope, ye that enter.]

We have read Mr. Stephens’ speech with interest and pleasure. In another place, we extract the concluding part, in which the duty and mission of the Democratic party are admirably delineated, and a hopeful view taken of the future of the whole country.

Supri-sing.

usquebaugh on hand?

We have heard of surprise parties, and on Christmas day experienced one of the pleasantest that can be imagined. It was a little past high noon, when we heard a thundering noise on the staircase and much stamping of shoes to get off the snow. We thought some of our numerous boys with their friends had been out gunning, and on their return, were coming in to warm by the fire. The door opened, and in they came. The PHŒNIX father, ever rising from his ashes and always in a flame, but not burnt up, as far as we can see; the PHŒNIX foreman, with his conundrums and quips and cranks and wreathed smiles; the PHŒNIX compositors, who, like Franklin and Horace Greeley, read and understand newspapers they print; the PHŒNIX pressman, who lives below, and is sometimes sooty from much dealing with steam, but keeps a cheerful heart within him all the lime; the clerks of the PHŒNIX, those ready pensmen who know how to indite a billet doux or frame an artistic debtor’s bill, and dun for it in the coolest fashion; the whole fraternity of Faustus, including the old boy himself, who, by some strange paradox, is represented in a printing office by the youngest and smallest boy; together with other clever representatives of the art preservative of other arts, not forgetting polite colored attendant Jim, man of horses and skillful in cork-drawing – well, all of these, and we don’t know how many more, came down on us with their bottles of punch and old usquebaugh, their cakes and fancy things, their new-fashioned inkstands, gold pen and what not. We surrendered at discretion, said our little speech, toasts and sentiments wont round, and all went smoothly as Calnan’s new sled gliding over the snow. We were considerably scared, but are now recovering, and hope to be all right on New Year’s Day. We defy them to scare us again. Just let them try it.

Up north a New York City magazine published some Christmas-related pictures. From the December 28, 1872 and January 4, 1873 issues of Harper’s Weekly:

anticipation

playing

partying

Christmas food security

Project Gutenberg has a copy of OBSERVATIONS upon the PROPHECIES of DANIEL, and the APOCALYPSE of St. JOHN. by Sir Isaac Newton. Here’s the section the Daily Phoenix alluded to:
The times of the Birth and Passion of Christ, with such like niceties, being not material to religion, were little regarded by the Christians of the first age. They who began first to celebrate them, placed them in the cardinal periods of the year; as the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, on the 25th of March, which when Julius Cæsar corrected the Calendar was the vernal Equinox; the feast of John Baptist on the 24th of June, which was the summer Solstice; the feast of St. Michael on Sept. 29, which was the autumnal Equinox; and the birth of Christ on the winter Solstice, Decemb. 25, with the feasts of St. Stephen, St. John and the Innocents, as near it as they could place them. And because the Solstice in time removed from the 25th of December to the 24th, the 23d, the 22d, and so on backwards, hence some in the following centuries placed the birth of Christ on Decemb. 23, and at length on Decemb. 20: and for the same reason they seem to have set the feast of St. Thomas on Decemb. 21, and that of St. Matthew on Sept. 21. So also at the entrance of the Sun into all the signs in the Julian Calendar, they placed the days of other Saints; as the conversion of Paul on Jan. 25, when the Sun entred Aquarius; St. Matthias on Feb. 25, when he entred Pisces; St. Mark on Apr. 25, when he entred Taurus; Corpus Christi on May 26, when he entred Gemini; St. James on July 25, when he entred Cancer; St. Bartholomew on Aug. 24, when he entred Virgo; Simon and Jude on Octob. 28, when he entred Scorpio: and if there were any other remarkable days in the Julian Calendar, they placed the Saints upon them, as St. Barnabas on June 11, where Ovid seems to place the feast of Vesta and Fortuna, and the goddess Matuta; and St. Philip and James on the first of May, a day dedicated both to the Bona Dea, or Magna Mater, and to the goddess Flora, and still celebrated with her rites. All which shews that these days were fixed in the first Christian Calendars by Mathematicians at pleasure, without any ground in tradition; and that the Christians afterwards took up with what they found in the Calendars.
The book uses icons for the signs of the Zodiac.
You can read about Sir Isaac Newton and his legendary gravity epiphany at National Geographic.

Newton statue at Library of Congress

Generals William T. Sherman and Oliver O. Howard testified before the Mixed Commission on British and American Claims. You can read more about it at Project Hathi. The Charleston Daily News commented on Sherman’s testimony in its December 25, 1872 issue (page 1)
Here is the conclusion of Alexander Stephens’ hopeful speech from the December 27, 1872 issue of The Daily Phoenix:

actually 1843

Saviour announced

“the nativity of the Saviour”

Saviour presented

From the Library of Congress: The Daily Phoenix, December 25 and December 27; the Annunciation apparently published in 1883; the birth of Jesus; the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple from 1905’s Scenes from the life of Jesus; Carol M. Highsmith’s 2007 photo of Sir Isaac Newton statue “along the balustrade by the Visitors’ Gallery. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.”; the 1865 portrait of General Sherman; portrait of Alexander H. Stephens from Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens : his diary kept when a prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston harbour, 1865, giving incidents and reflections of his prison life and some letters and reminiscences ; the first Christmas card – you can see the colorized original and learn more about it at British (naturally) The Postal Museum, actually from 1843, the three panes represent feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and a family party; Currier & Ives’ graphic greeting;
From Wikimedia Commons: The picture of Father Christmas actually in a wassail bowl from the December 24, 1842 issue of the Illustrated London News; Columbia in ruins, 1865 by George N. Barnard; the presumably soused boar’s head said to be from 1873
From the Son of the South: William Waud’s image of the burning of Columbia, originally published in the April 8, 1865 issue of Harper’s Weekly
From Project Gutenberg: Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol; the lord of misrule from The Book of Christmas
I found the Harper’s Weekly Christmas pictures at Hathi Trust – December 28 1872 and January 4 1873
Merry Christmas (New York : Published by Currier & Ives, 125 Nassau St., [1876])

to you and yours

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, American Culture, American Society, Postbellum Society, The Election of 1872 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

more or less traditionary

Posted on November 28, 2022 by SUMPTER

downtown Boston

It was becoming a tradition. 150 years ago, for the tenth year in a row, the United States president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for a Thursday at the end of November.

“ample civil and religious freedom and equality before the law”

THANKSGIVING DAY 1872
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – A PROCLAMATION
Whereas the revolution of another year has again brought the time when it is usual to look back upon the past and publicly to thank the Almighty for His mercies and His blessings; and Whereas if any one people has more occasion than another for such thankfulness it is the citizens of the United States, whose Government is their creature, subject to their behests; who have reserved to themselves ample civil and religious freedom and equality before the law; who during the last twelvemonth have enjoyed exemption from any grievous or general calamity, and to whom prosperity in agriculture, manufactures, and commerce has been vouchsafed;
Now, therefore, by these considerations, I recommend that on Thursday, the 28th day of
November next, the people meet in their respective places of worship and there make their
acknowledgments to God for His kindness and bounty.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 11th day of October, A.D. 1872, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT

That was on October 11th. On November 9th and 10th the Great Boston Fire of 1872 ravaged about 65 acres of downtown Boston. At least 30 people died, including 12 firefighters; 776 building were destroyed. In its November 30, 1872 Supplement Harper’s Weekly provided some Thanksgiving content, but the main part of the newspaper focused on the Boston fire, at least with its pictures. Here’s a sample.

12 firefighters died

stopping looters

burned district blackened

ruins with Old South Church

birth place burned

From Harper’s Weekly Supplement November 30, 1872:

THE CHEERFUL GIVER.

mite work

That Heaven loves a cheerful giver is a saying as old as the human race; and that a gift is valued by the giver’s heart and not by its amount is beautifully illustrated by the parable of the poor widow’s mite. There is an excellent story of a rich but very stingy old Scotchman who once accidentally laid a guinea in place of a penny in the contribution box as it was passed round the church. He attempted to take it back, but was prevented by the vigilant deacon, who refused to give up anything that was “on the Lord’s plate.” “Weel, weel,” he grunted, as he leaned back in his pew, “I’ll get credit for it in heaven.” “Nae, Jamie,” said his friend the deacon, “ye’ll no get credit in heaven for ony thing but the penny ye thought to gie.”

At this season of the year, when the nation is called upon to offer thanks to Providence for peace, for abundant harvests, for general prosperity in commerce and all the various branches of industry, the poor should be remembered with special tenderness and liberality. We are apt to be spasmodic in our charities. A great disaster, like the fires which desolated Portland, Chicago, and Boston, an earthquake which lays waste a populous city and fills a land with terror, rouses us to extraordinary efforts on behalf of the sufferers. This is right, certainly; but we are very apt to forget that we have the poor with us always, and that hundreds and thousands right about our own doors are constantly suffering from want. The blessed summer-time affords them a respite from the sharper pangs of poverty; but winter brings them all – hunger and cold, sickness and death. Let those to whom Providence has given wealth, whose homes are full of comfort and plenty, think of the poor who have no “Thanksgiving.” Happy the man who is not only thankful for himself, but that he has the means of making others happy!

crying foul

In its Thanksgiving coverage a New York City paper also stressed charity. From the November 29, 1872 issue of The New York Herald (page 4):

Thanksgiving and its Observance.

In the homes of the people and in the churches of the various religious denominations there was yesterday a more general observance of Thanksgiving Day than on any former occasion. As time rolls by the solitary religious holiday which has a national interest becomes invested with more interest in the popular mind, and its associations are hallowed by the memories, gay or sad, which the past has entwined with it. We are naturally inclined to be retrospective, and even the most go-ahead Yankee must sometimes pause in his career to look back with regret over the waste of time. In the bustle of our feverish life there are few opportunities to cultivate those gentle and tender memories which spring up amid time-honored celebrations with their scenes of innocent festivity into which tradition has woven that charm which antiquity alone can give – a feeling difficult to account for, that is yet the very essence of our enjoyment. Like all other human institutions time is exerting its influence over Thanksgiving Day, and people are beginning to associate with it more and more the idea of a festival. The traditionary turkey and the assembled guests enter more into our conceptions of it than the more solemn rites of religion. These, however, are not neglected, though the growth of a social and even a fantastical tendency in the celebration of the day is becoming more marked year by year. Perhaps the most pleasing and humanizing observance of the day is the custom of assembling the poor and wretched in the various charitable institutions of the city and making the day for them one of unusual happiness – a day to be remembered as the sad year advances through its weary round, a cycle of misery, with one recurring, bright joyous day, when the tears of the wretched are dried by the kind, charitable souls who spread an annual feast for the poor. It will be soon by the accounts published elsewhere that the entertainment of poor children was carried out pretty generally. The religious bodies and charitable institutions seemed to vie with each other in the extent to which this feature was carried, and in some instances as many as fifteen hundred poor children sat down to enjoy the substantial fare provided for them by the kindness and thoughtfulness of the more prosperous part of the community. Of all modes of returning thanks to the beneficent Creator for the blessings He has bestowed on the nation and on individuals, this tender charity toward the suffering ones will be most acceptable to Him who loves the poor. Nor can the effect of such reunions as those that mark the celebration of Thanksgiving and bring the wretched into contact with their happier fellow citizens fail to exercise a most healthy influence on the moral tone of those who are most exposed to temptation. It is well that the young ones whose fate has been cast in the midst of suffering and misery and vice should learn that the rich and prosperous sympathize with them and are willing to aid them in the battle of life. And these pleasant and humanizing reunions let in the light of hope on the dark spots of our civilization where else there would be nothing but gloom and despair. We must not estimate the value of the good done by this gathering together of the children of misfortune by the mere physical pleasure which a good dinner affords them, but rather by the moral effect on the children that is exercised by the hope of a brighter future, and the knowledge that in their darkest hour of suffering they will meet sympathy and support from their fellow men if only they will strive to merit it.

On its November 29, 1872 front page, The New York Times mentioned church services and charity. One of the charitable dinners was held at the Union Home and School for the Orphans of Soldiers and Sailors. Church service and possibly some music performed by the children, were also part of the exercises. The “fantasticals,” apparently forerunners of the “maskers” of the early 20th century, were out on the streets of Manhattan, wearing their masks and costumes. The paper reported on “Thanksgiving in England”. Cyrus W. Field gave a banquet at the Buckingham Palace Hotel to celebrate American Thanksgiving Day. Prime Minister William E. Gladstone addressed the gathering.

You can read more about the fire at the Boston Fire Historical Society
I think the cartoon has something to do with the Liberal Republicans and Horace Greeley’s failed attempt to defeat U.S. Grant in the 1872 presidential election.
I got President Grant’s 1872 proclamation at Pilgrim Hall Museum. I saw the Times front page at The New York Times The Complete Front Pages 1851-2008. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers Inc., 2008. on one of the DVDs; You can view the November 30, 1872 issue Harper’s Weekly article at Hathi Trust
From the Library of Congress: the photo of Boston, after the fire, November 9th & 10th, 1872; Newton Timothy Hartshorn’s portrait of U.S. Grant. Charles H. Crosby was the lithographer;

a NYC market at Thanksgiving time

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, American Culture, Postbellum Society, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment